Fiscal Year
by redandwhitemushroom
Summary: Little did Mamura Daiki know that one year was all he needed to fall for Yosano Suzume. AU
1. Prologue

A/N: So, here's a new fic, I'm not entirely sure about it. So, yeah :D

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><p>"Yosano Suzume, get in my office right this instant!" a voice roared deafeningly throughout the office.<p>

A young woman with dark brown hair and aqua eyes was suddenly snapped out of her stupor. She only managed to sober up a bit when her colleagues gave her a hushed prompt to see her boss.

"Hai, you wanted to see me?" Suzume asked politely.

She was met with silence. However, it was rather short lived to her relief but when a peculiar white envelop from his hands caught her attention, she was not so sure.

Slowly, she received the envelop respectfully with both hands, basic social etiquette being drilled into her mind from a young age taught her to do so. Suzume opened the letter addressed to her and read the contents.

_Yosano Suzume,_

_ You will be dismissed from your job in three months' time. During this period, you should wrap up any loose ends of your current project with your team. Your services towards the company will no longer be needed. Thank you for cooperating with us for the time you have been here._

"E-excuse me sir, but may I know why I've received this letter?" enquired Suzume.

The blank look he was sending her way was not helping at all.

"Sir, may I please know the meaning of this," Suzume said, slightly more confidently.

"Yosano, you should know by now that your cloud-gazing tendencies are greatly affecting your efficiency. The company cannot afford to help cover your mistakes every single time you make one. You are lagging your team behind, when they can clearly accomplish so much more. You have to wake up from whatever dream it is you are having," her boss sternly told her off.

"In all these months I've been working here, I've handed in all of my assignments on time. I've even double-checked for errors. There's definitely been some mistake," Suzume said, voice louder than before.

"True, however all of your reports were not detailed enough. Apart from that, I have constantly caught you looking out of the window daydreaming. Now, unless you are here to tell me that you are a witness to some sort of murder case, I recommend you to continue with your work and quickly find a new job," her boss swiftly proceeded to dismiss her from his room.

Huffing under her breath, Suzume silently pondered upon the chances of getting a new job, despite graduating fresh out of university a few months ago.

_'And I was so not cloud-gazing, I was looking for the daytime shooting star!' _

This was going to be a long year…

* * *

><p>AN: So... that's the prologue for you. The next chapter will be coming soon, provided I'm not too lazy to actually type it. See you soon!


	2. April

A/N: THE NEW CHAPPIE IS HERE!

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><p>"It's finally the beginning of a new fiscal year! I wonder if anybody new is going to be working for the company?" Yuyuka asked.<p>

"It'd be great if it's a new guy. I really need to get a boyfriend soon if I don't want to end up being a spinster," replied Monika.

"Ne…what about Inukai Manabu? I heard that he's favoured to be the head of the R&D department. I've also noticed that even though he's a nice person in general, he's especially nice towards you. You should give him a shot!" Nana nudged Monika.

"That means he's going to be our boss soon! Anyways, we've only worked on a couple of projects together. So naturally, he'll be friendlier with me than you guys, it doesn't mean anything special," Monika retorted.

"May I please have everybody's attention?" Shishio's voice clearly echoed within the confines of the office.

"Good. This year, we will be having a new addition to our family. Everybody please meet Yosano Suzume. She will now be in Yuyuka's team. Now, go along and continue with your work," Shishio promptly finished his announcement.

"Suzume, this way!" Yuyuka extended an arm towards the air and signaled for Suzume to go over, all the while smiling sweetly.

Taking it as an invitation, Suzume walked over to Yuyuka with as much confidence she can. Her head kept on repeating 'don't make a fool out of yourself' like a mantra the entire time. Apparently, kami decided to hate her and soon enough, she found herself rubbing her throbbing head. Immediately sputtering apologies quickly, the person disappeared before she could catch a glimpse of him. The only response she received was a 'watch where you're going next time, newbie'.

Suzume was silently fuming as she made her way towards Yuyuka and company. Her face was blank, as she was still terribly confused by the reaction of the person she bumped into. She had absolutely no idea as to why she deserved to be treated as such on the first day. 'But he does have a point, I should really watch where I'm going'. And with that, a nervous smile made its way to her lips.

"Hello Suzume, I'm Yuyuka! We'll be teammates from here on out, so we should be hanging out with each other frequently!" The girl called Yuyuka introduced herself rather enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Suzume was stunned by the sheer cuteness displayed by her. Her strawberry-blonde, shoulder-length hair with bangs only accentuated her vibrant purple eyes. The sweet smile on her lips somehow managed to look a bit more syrupy after Suzume unluckily bumped into a person. Suzume shook away the thought, rather dismissing it as a trick of the light. Yuyuka looked to be a few years younger than she herself was, but that would be impossible, seeing the fact that she just came out of university.

"Hi, I'm Nana!" Nana said with just as much cheerfulness in her voice as Yuyuka.

'Wow, her head looks like a gigantic mushroom' was the first thought that appeared in Suzume's mind. True to her mind's connection with mushrooms, Nana had brown hair with matching eyes. She looked like one of those button mushrooms Suzume saw at home when her mother was cooking.

"Monika here," the less impassioned voice of Monika made its way to Suzume's ears, which puzzled her a great deal.

With two teammates as sunshine-y as Yuyuka and Nana, one certainly would not expect Monika to sound so sullen. But then again, there has to be a person to diffuse the overflowing hyper-ness within the group, so it kind of made sense…kind of. Monika is the tallest of the team, has frizzy black hair and brown eyes. She looks like she's from a mixed heritage and Suzume wondered about it for a while.

"Hello, I am Suzume. I am here to help you out, so if there's anything that you need, please don't hesitate to ask me for assistance," Suzume's self-introduction came out in a rather hurried manner. Mentally, she gave a sigh of relief because so far, her first day of work was going rather smoothly.

"Suzume, you don't have to be so anxious around us. After all, it is your first day of work. Nana, Monika and I have been friends ever since high school, so it's natural for us to bicker about. Just don't feel left out, ok?" Yuyuka's kind speech stirred something deep within Suzume and she decided that Yuyuka really did have the personality to match her appearance,

"Of course not, I'll be fine. I should start working now… Yuyuka, is there anything for me to do?" Inquired Suzume.

"Well, we don't have any projects to complete for the time being, so I'll just brief you on the overall trend the company's aiming for. I'll get you some catalogues of the works of art the company has produced to give you a rough idea of the expectations of the higher-ups," replied Yuyuka.

"Thank you so much!"

And off went Suzume to lounge about on the office floor. The office was washed white as white can be. It made the office look blindingly bright and at one point, Suzume felt her eyes burning and thought of making an appointment with her mother's optometrist to give them a check-up. Apart from the walls, even the desks were the exact same shade. The only colours that exited on the office floor belonged to the clothes of the employees and their belongings. Maybe the whole idea was to make them stand out more from the surroundings. If that was it, then it was surely doing an awesome job.

There were plenty of large rooms on each side of the floor, probably one for each team. A long line of immaculately white sofas (which looked terribly appealing to Suzume, whose feet were aching from standing the whole time) was placed back-to-back and extended to the end of the hall.

Efficient.

That was the only word, which could be used to describe the office. There was absolutely no place for 'unnecessary things', such as gigantic potted plants or pieces of artwork hanging on the wall. Not even 'unnecessary colours' are needed in this place. It was the exact opposite of her old working place. Back there, the walls were maroon, the carpets were brown, the dividers were sea green; the place was practically the perfect presentation of a messed up palette of a painter.

At long last, Suzume gave in to her pleading soles were sending directly to her brain and sat on a seemingly innocent seat to soothe her tired muscles.

"This is the second time you've disturbed me within the day, now please leave me be," an unsettlingly familiar voice said from somewhere behind her. She could've sworn she knew the owner of it but she just couldn't place where she heard it before.

'…second time?' Suzume remembered the encounter from earlier on and grasped the opportunity to apologize to him for the previous episode.

"I am really sorry for bumping into you this morning. I hope you didn't get hurt. I'm Suzume, by the way," she said while turning around.

"…It's fine. I'm Mamura. Now, leave me alone," was Mamura's cold reply.

"You talked to me first. Anyways, I'm waiting for Yuyuka to come back with the company catalogues," Suzume rebutted.

"You're sitting on my seat," Mamura's clipped tone made Suzume slightly intimidated by his presence.

"Oh, ok,"

Suzume leapt from his seat, feet tripping on each other in the process. Mamura held her arms to prevent her from making a one-way trip to the ground. Startled green orbs looked into his flustered reddish-amber ones. Much to her surprise, he seemed to be…blushing. Mamura was beet red and his eyes were looking at anywhere but her. Once she regained footing, the speed that Mamura used to let go of her was so fast, as if she scalded him.

Whilst Suzume was impossibly confused and Mamura was utterly uncomfortable, they were both blissfully unaware of the pair of violet eyes watching the entire exchange from afar. Eyes narrowed and the green-eyed monster almost unleashed itself. Thankfully, it didn't. Straightening herself and flipping her hair, she walked out of her hiding place to Mamura's desk to pass the catalogues to Suzume.

"So that's where you've been. I've been looking for you everywhere but you seemed to have disappeared from existence," Yuyuka said with another one of her sickeningly sweet smiles that only Mamura could tell. Suzume, however, still thought she looked like an angel.

"Sorry to have caused you so much trouble, I've been hanging around here for a while. May I keep the catalogues with me for a bit, in case I don't manage to finish them within the day?" Suzume asked diligently.

"Why not? Go ahead!" Yuyuka replied.

"Thank you!" With that, Suzume scurried to one of the white couches in the middle of the hall.

* * *

><p>It's been hours since Suzume sat on that comfortable couch that is not as comfortable now. Her eyes were tearing up from staring intensely at the catalogue, attempting to record every single detail of the style the clothes were designed to be. Her back was screaming with discomfort from sitting in the same posture for far too long without stretching occasionally.<p>

"Still around?" A voice asked.

Blinking rapidly before looking at the speaker, Suzume's eyes appeared to be glassy as she peered up at Shishio.

"Yes, I'm about to finish soon and hopefully, I'll be on track with everybody tomorrow," came Suzume's optimistic reply.

"It's good to hear that a new employee is so passionate about working. Who knows, maybe if you work hard enough, we'll be able to cooperate with each other one day," Shishio encouraged Suzume.

Suzume's heart warmed at his words and she felt butterflies in her stomach. 'So this is what is feels to like somebody…' She ended that train of thought hastily before it morphed into something dangerous.

"One day," Suzume promised.

* * *

><p>After what felt like an eternity, Suzume finished going through all of the catalogues, making necessary marking here and there. Whilst Suzume was secretly a slacker, she could work efficiently in a working environment. Knowing this, she would usually complete her assignments and drafts at work, so as to not have to tie loose ends at home.<p>

"Take it easy, it's just your first day," Shishio said amusedly.

"I know, that's why I have to work extra hard. I have to cope up with my teammates. I don't want to slow the team down," Suzume said with an expression of utter determination.

"Aww, your reasons for working so hard make you so cute, Chun-chun!" Exclaimed Shishio.

'Did he just call me Chun-chun? Is that supposed to be my new nickname? Did he just say that I was cute?'

Upon seeing Suzume's baffled face, Shishio chuckled and ruffled her hair. He passed by her while waving his hand in the air.

"See you tomorrow, Chun-chun! You too, Mamura," Shishio's cheerful voice dimmed as he walked further and further away to the elevators.

Turning around, Suzume suddenly realized that the office was starkly dark, save for the spot of light in the midst of darkness. 'Mamura is still here? Everybody else has gone, even Shishio'. Deciding that it was none of her business, Suzume quickly packed her belongings and stuffed them into her bag.

"Bye, Mamura. See you tomorrow!" Suzume said politely as she made her way to the elevators.

As expected, she was met with silence. She wondered how anybody could possibly be so impolite. She hoped it wasn't anything personal because having enemies on the first day of work was certainly not on her 'to-do' list.

"Be careful of him," Mamura silently warned.

"Who?" Suzume asked dumfoundedly.

"Shishio. Be careful of Shishio, Yosano," Mamura coolly replied.

"Why?" Suzume continued with her monosyllabic questions.

"He's popular with the female population. I'd stay away from him if I were you," Mamura told her truthfully.

"Uhh…Ok. Thanks for telling me! See you!" Suzume said brightly and walked to the elevators with a skip in her step.

Back at the office, Mamura shook his head slightly. 'She didn't understand my warning at all. She'll just get her heart brok—what am I even thinking? She's just a new girl in the company; I shouldn't be this concerned for her. I should start packing now, since she's gone home as well.'

Meanwhile in the elevator, Suzume was smiling contentedly. 'Good thing he doesn't hate me. Maybe, he just has problems with expressing his feelings. What does he mean by telling me to stay away from Shishio? Shishio's such a nice guy, that he wouldn't hurt me. Anyways, today was a great head start!'

And a great head start it was.

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><p>"Good morning, Mamura!" Suzume greeted Mamura pleasantly.<p>

"Yosano," Mamura nodded his head at Suzume in acknowledgement.

"Did you stay behind at the office very late last night?" Suzume asked, being genuinely concerned for him.

"Not really," came Mamura's no-nonsense reply.

"Do you always speak so little?" Suzume persisted.

"Even less," Mamura tossed the conversation back to Suzume.

"Are you serious? Would you like to have lunch with me today?" Suzume invited Mamura politely and walked closer to his desk, her hip resting on the edge of his desk.

"Why?" Mamura continued saying while focusing on his work.

"Just because," Suzume proudly said.

Mamura cast a puzzled look at Suzume before he could hide it from her. At seeing Suzume's look of understanding, Mamura realized his attempt at masking his emotions failed and blushed furiously in response.

"Why are you blushing? Well, you told me that you usually speak even less than you just did with me. So, I've decided that if I'm able to make you talk so much, then I'll try to make you talk as much as a normal healthy male your age should," declared Suzume.

"You should focus on your job. Remember that you are still new in the company and have many things to learn," returned Mamura, ashamed that Suzume noticed his blush.

"Then maybe, you could make use of my lunch invitation to teach me the things I need to know," Suzume said with a louder voice.

Her posture was no longer as relaxed as before and her hip no longer leaned onto the edge of her desk. She stood straight so abruptly, that pieces of paper from Mamura's desk fell to the floor. Suzume's hands flew to the ground as she grabbed the pieces of scattered paper off the floor. As soon as she was done, she shot up and the top of her head clashed with Mamura's nose. Apparently, Mamura was also planning to pick them up but Suzume was just so much faster than he was. Mamura's nose kept on gushing blood and he nearly made a mess on his white button-up shirt, if not for Suzume's quick reflexes. In one of her hands was a piece of folded tissue paper, which was held at his nose to receive the rapidly flowing red viscous liquid; all the while, her other hand was holding the back of Mamura's head steadily, so his blood wouldn't mess everything up.

By the time Mamura regained his bearings, he discovered two things: firstly, his nose was bleeding; and secondly, Suzume's face was right in front of him. He did the first thing that registered in his mind—he shoved her away.

The effect was immediate; Suzume was mad and confused at the same time. Mad because he shoved her while she was treating him and confused because she didn't understand why he shoved her. She saw that he was once again blushing and was very curious about it.

"I can take care of myself," Mamura's blunt reply only served to amuse Suzume further.

"You know, you're blushing now. You still haven't answered my previous question as to why you were blushing before," Suzume said cheekily.

At this, Mamura only blushed harder. It was at this point when Suzume decided that a flustered Mamura was a cute Mamura.

"I'm not blushing," Mamura said after gaining some composure.

Some blood was seeping through the tissue and was clearly sliding to the top of Mamura's mouth. Suzume took another piece of tissue and stuffed it at his face to stop the progress of the stream of blood. This only served to turn his face into a shade of crimson that even made the blood on his face envious.

"There you go again. If possible, your face appears to be redder than before," taunted Suzume.

"…" His face was beginning to turn into a deeper shade of red that Suzume thought he was about to faint any time soon.

"Oh! I know why you're blushing! You're shy around girls! That should also be the reason why you don't interact with other people on a regular basis because it would seem rather odd if you just avoided girls!" Suzume said animatedly upon having her revelation.

"If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you!" Threatened Mamura.

"It's fine! In exchange, you must have lunch with me," Suzume said happily.

Poor Mamura had no choice, but to relent to her demand.

A strawberry blonde observed the entire turn of events and was silently fuming. She stalked towards the ladies' washroom to calm down.

* * *

><p>"Hello, Suzume!"<p>

"Hi, Suzume!"

"Hey."

"Hello, everybody!" Suzume chirped as chipper as she could at 9 in the morning.

"Why are you so early anyways?" Asked Yuyuka.

"I'm not early, I'm on time. We're supposed to arrive at the office by 9:00 a.m. or before. It's 9:10 a.m. now. Of course I'm here. I wonder where everybody else is…" A very confused Suzume answered.

"Not to burst your bubble here, Suzume, but people usually start shuffling in at 9:30 a.m. to the office. So, we are usually one of the earliest to arrive here. Well, with the exception of Mamura there. It seems as though the guy is always at the office. I mean, he's always here before we arrive and is still stuck at his spot by the time we leave. Sometimes, I wonder if he has a life…" Monika said matter-of-factly.

"Who cares? His father is so handsome…" Nana sighed as she practically drooled all over the floor.

Suzume simply stared at Nana. She was completely taken aback by the way Nana was acting.

"Never mind Nana, Suzume. She has a preference for older and handsome men and usually enters a dream-like state whenever she thinks of them, especially Mamura's father," Yuyuka helpfully filled in for Suzume.

"You've seen Mamura's father?" asked a very surprised Suzume.

"Of course, he's so handsome…" Nana replied, while continuously drooling.

"And…she's out again. Suzume dear, he works here. In fact, he's on the board of directors," said Monika.

"Oh…I never knew. Thanks for filling me in!" Suzume said, gratefulness written all over her face.

"Anytime, Suzume," Yuyuka returned the thanks with another one of her diabetic-inducing smiles.

"What's there for us to do today?"

* * *

><p>It was ten to noon and the office was still in commotion. Papers were flying about and even people were flying about like the pieces of papers. Everybody was busy because new drafts for the next set of clothes on the runway were continuously being drafted and edited. The briefing meeting for the theme the company was using this year was held earlier on in the morning. Ever since then, people have been rushing about along the hallways and even across the hallways. The workers were like blurs of colours dashing about against the immaculately white office and transformed it into a piece of abstract art.<p>

"Suzume, may I have a word with you?" Yuyuka asked with a dazzling smile plastered onto her face.

"Yeah, ok!" Suzume said as she put the finishing touches on her draft.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Suzume asked Yuyuka.

"Actually, it's more of a request on my side. Could you please do me a favour and ask Mamura out for a lunch on my behalf?" Yuyuka's suddenly bashful demeanor alarmed Suzume.

"It's no problem! So, what are the details that he has to know?" Asked Suzume.

"You're the best, Suzume! Could you please tell him to see me at The Toast at noon this Saturday?" Yuyuka's voice was laced with gratitude as she was talking.

"Ok, I'll tell him that!" Suzume told Yuyuka.

As Suzume walked back to continue with perfecting her draft, a sadistic smile painted Yuyuka's features. 'Just how stupid can she be?'

* * *

><p>Happily humming as she made her way to Mamura's seat, Suzume was obviously looking forward to having lunch with him.<p>

"When are you going to finish with your stuff?" Queried Suzume.

"Soon," said Mamura.

"Are you done yet?" Suzume asked impatiently.

"No," Mamura deadpanned.

"Are you done yet?"

"No."

"Are you done yet?"

"No."

"Are you done yet?"

"No."

"Are you done yet?"

"No."

"Are you annoyed yet?"

"Yes," Mamura said as his lips twitched with a smile he was desperately trying to suppress.

Saying this, Mamura stood up and switched off his desk lamp and walked briskly through the doors towards the elevators. Suzume had to jog a bit, in order to catch up with his pace. She was certainly not athletic and huffed as she stepped her way into the elevator. Suzume was slightly irritated with the way he carried himself. To her, he was a pretentious jerk, who had an air of superiority around him and made her feel immensely tiny. However, knowing that he has problems communicating with the female population, Suzume felt merciful and decided not to chide him with his 'attitude issues'.

"That was so not fair, you know," Suzume said while puffing her cheeks.

"What was?" Mamura said infuriatingly.

"What you did just now!" An utterly exasperated Suzume replied.

"What did I just do?" Mamura's slightly amused undertone did not get past her.

"Argh, you're impossible!" Suzume said aggravated.

"What would you like to have for lunch?" Asked Mamura.

"Huh? Oh right, lunch…umm…I don't know?" The question caught Suzume off guard.

Mamura picked up the pace a bit as he walked out of the lobby. Seeing as Suzume had no idea where to have lunch, he abruptly decided to bring her to a restaurant he frequented.

"Wait, where are we going?" Suzume's painfully curious voice asked from behind.

"You'll see," Mamura said, while wearing an undetectable smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Halfway through lunch with Mamura, Suzume started beginning to get anxious. She didn't know how to get Yuyuka's request through. It wasn't even the matter of proving her competency as a teammate anymore; she had to uphold her promise as a friend.<p>

'It's either talk or nothing…'

"Mamura? Eh..." Suzume barely managed to stutter.

"Hn?" Mamura was slightly surprised at her sudden shyness.

"Yuyuka said to see her at The Toast at noon this Saturday," Suzume recited without taking a breath.

Mamura silently processed the words that fell out of flustered Suzume's lips. At first, he thought that she was asking him out on a date. But then again, he knew that there wasn't a need for that, since she was already having lunch with him. Upon repeating her words once more in his mind, he distinctly heard 'Yuyuka said'. Typical. Mamura didn't have anything against Yuyuka in particular; it's just that he saw right through her 'cute girl' act. He honestly was not interested in her the same way she was in him. Not wanting to lead her on, he would do the most logical thing.

"No," silently declared Mamura.

Suzume visibly wilted, as she went through a million ways to break the news to Yuyuka. She was certainly not going to be pleased at all. Suzume could only hope that Yuyuka wouldn't blame her for it.

At Suzume's utterly defeated demeanor, Mamura found it an interesting sight to behold. He absolutely couldn't believe that nobody realized the falseness behind her saccharine smile. 'Just how stupid can she be?' On the other hand, Mamura knew that he was in no place to blame Suzume. After all, he'd known Yuyuka ever since high school. It took him at least a year to figure her out. From the moment he knew of her true nature, he told himself never to get involved with the likes of her.

"I'll tell her myself. You've already done your part. Sorry for troubling you," Mamura said good-naturedly.

"You will?" Suzume half-exclaimed.

Mamura nodded in silent agreement.

"Why did you say sorry for? You haven't done anything to trouble me," said Suzume thoughtfully.

"I was the recipient of the message, so I have to take partial responsibility for the inconvenience I have caused," Mamura reasoned.

"I see… Well, it's fine!" Suzume replied with vigor, although she couldn't exactly see his logic.

* * *

><p>Yuyuka was most confused when she saw Suzume's animated figure bouncing next to Mamura, her Mamura. At the moment, he looked every bit the 24-year-old he was supposed to be, which was a feat in itself, and they were both chatting idly with each other. 'I really need to get those eyes checked.' Yuyuka couldn't fathom upon Mamura's willingness to be within a ten-metre radius of Suzume. She'd heard plenty of times before of how he'd outright shut himself away from girls who confessed to him, even the message-bearers. She herself had a crush on him since freshmen year. Knowing his reactions to particularly bold girls, she opted to make him fall for her by making a cute exterior for herself. For some peculiar reason, Suzume came out unscathed. 'I'll need to have a little talk with Suzume there…'<p>

"Do you mind if I happened to steal Suzume for a minute?" Yuyuka sweetly asked Mamura, while fluttering her lashes.

"Yuyuka, if this is regarding the date you've so kindly delegated Suzume here to ask me, I shall give you my answer in person: no," said Mamura straightforwardly.

"Oh, is that so? But, I've never told Suzume to ask you out on whatever date you were talking about. I'm sure she was just using my name to express her true intention towards you," Yuyuka continued with that honey-like tone of hers.

The skeptical look Mamura wore on his face only made Yuyuka burn even more. 'How could he? I've never crossed any of his boundaries. All these years, I've been nothing but cordial to him. Apart from Suzume, nobody knows of this crush I have on him. How could he possibly believe her but not me?' Yuyuka was livid at the implications of his expression.

"Suzume, a word, now." Yuyuka commanded in the sweetest voice she could muster. The demanding undertone, however, did not go unnoticed by the third person in the conversation.

"Ok, let's go to the pantry," said Suzume seriously.

Mamura didn't understand his hesitation to defend the girl from Yuyuka. After all, Suzume was a girl. And girls were none of his business, right? So, why did he care now? What changed?

'Suzume.'

* * *

><p>"Why did you tell Mamura that I instigated the whole 'confession' thing? You clearly told me the message and I was just supposed to deliver it," Suzume's voice dripped with conviction.<p>

"Simple, he isolates girls who confess to him, including those who are merely sent to deliver it. Listen closely, Suzume, he is mine," Yuyuka said haughtily, with the underlying threat 'and don't you dare go near him' ringing clearly in Suzume's mind.

"But you were so nice and kind to me, what happened?" Suzume asked with a puzzled expression.

"You mean you didn't know it was all an act?" Asked Yuyuka, smirk visible on her face.

Suzume could do naught but look at Yuyuka blankly. She felt as if the world she knew was shifting below her feet. This girl in front of her was certainly not Yuyuka.

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" Asked Suzume through gritted teeth.

"You still don't understand? Well, it's understandable, seeing you came from those third-line companies. Over here, one's victory is determined by how well they play their cards. Since you are of no more use to me, why don't you just get you sorry ass out of here and go back to your sad excuse of a company," Yuyuka's said, all the while fluffing her hair and vainly examining her nails.

'SLAP'

The resounding noise of skin-on-skin impact echoed through the pantry.

"How...how dare you! My own parents have never hit me! What right do you have?" Yuyuka literally spat.

"If you insult my old company or me again, I will beat you up!" Said Suzume with a no-nonsense look on her face.

"What? You already beat me up, you bitch!" Yuyuka screamed.

Suzume soundlessly returned her insult with a punch to her face. At this, Yuyuka scratched Suzume's face with her gel nails and repeated "YOU BITCH" the entire time. Suzume resorted to pulling Yuyuka's hair.

This was the scene Shishio walked into.

"STOP CALLING ME A BITCH!" Suzume yelled back at Yuyuka.

"BITCH!" Yuyuka screeched just to spite Suzume.

"Now, why don't we stop this and talk like civilized people?" Shishio feebly tried to reason.

The girls didn't stop at his words and continued with their catfight. Yuyuka's face was decorated with bruises all over, with the courtesy of Suzume's power-packed punches. Suzume was not faring well, either. Her face was raw with scratches caused by Yuyuka's gel nails.

"What's going on?" Mamura's irritated voice could be heard proceeding into the pantry.

"Well, you see...umm..." Shishio failingly started to conjure a story.

"Yuyuka tripped on her 5-inch heels and landed face first onto the ground. Since I was half-skipping my way towards her, I tripped on her body and ended up on the floor with her. The floor tiles are in fact, really sharp and so, I cut my face," the lie was seamlessly told by Suzume.

Whilst Shishio was dazzled by Suzume's lying skills, Mamura took a quick glance at Yuyuka's heels and completely believed in her lie. 'Those really are killer heels, how do girls walk in those?' Shishio immediately took advantage of Mamura's distracted state and directed him towards his office to 'discuss about a new project'.

"Why did you help me?" Yuyuka asked Suzume, genuinely perplexed at the events that transpired.

"Because I understand that you're just another person muddled in office politics. I honestly don't care, but when you were pretending to be 'nice', I could feel the some of it was true. You're a nice person," Suzume said nonchalantly.

"Only because you are close to Mamura, which means that I'll get to see him plenty, too," said Yuyuka as she straightened herself.

"Whatever you say," Suzume inwardly smiled. 'She's still not being honest with herself.'

With this, an unlikely friendship began.

* * *

><p>AN: Hope you guys liked it :D


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